Judas sat across his parents, crossing his arms as they both sat across from him in disbelief, Judas constantly trying to keep his cool and fix his hair throughout the confrontation, it almost felt like be was about to be punished again, and honestly that's what he expected when he was called here. He almost couldn't look his family straight in the face anymore, though he could tell they were probably disappointed at him and keeping this behind their backs for so long.

He couldn't even managed to speak another word to them, waiting to hear what they had to say as they processed the boy's information. Marco was pacing around the room, rubbing at their face as Tom sat at his desk, tapping on the wood and seemed just as worried and stressed as judas and marco were. Though eventually tom finally managed to find the words to actually speak to the older boy and get his thoughts out on everything he found out.

"So...the girls are...our kids...from alternate timelines...".

Marco stopped in their tracks.

"And...you think this masked person was behind it...".

Judas felt himself tense.

"And you've all been conspiring to catch them and find out their identity behind our backs...even putting your little brother in harm's way?".

Every word felt like a knife in his gut, at this point he'd be lucky if they didn't just hand the throne over to landon and denounce him entirely, he took risks but they were serious risks and his parents had every right to be more then mad with him at this point. He only managed to nod a little as the adults looked at each other before looking back to judas, "Judas you...you really could've gotten hurt you know? You all could've gotten seriously hurt...and you all could've...judas why didn't you get any of us involved?".

"I...I couldn't bring myself to...", he sighed, "We didn't know what could happen if you knew...especially to the girls, or even to your sanities...we just wanted to help. You...all of you are afraid to let us do anything, to help or take care of these problems, you let me sit in on your meetings but you never wanted me to take any actions...when i'll be king soon! These girls shouldn't have to deal with all of you on top of them as well! All we wanted to do was get them back home and protect them...".

"Judas..".

"Everyone wanted to do this, we didn't make anyone join, mason felt so alone and useless and he was more then happy to be apart of something then feel untrusted, landon stayed in his room all day but wanted to help because celeste and him are friends and doing this finally got him out of his shell, sky...everyone thinks she might be evil or weak and...she's none of those things, but she's never allowed to truly prove herself outside of grueling tasks and getting herself out of problems...and nora...you know her family shut her out...and now she's making friends and taking risks...I...Maybe they shouldn't have helped...maybe I should've said no...but...they really wanted to and sometimes...I couldn't help it...".

"The magic high commission-".

"The magic high commission has constantly wanted to accuse sky of being the culprit, my best friend! She doesn't deserve this and she doesn't deserve to not be able to defend herself. she never intended to hurt anyone she just wants to help...and no one lets her. These girls are her sisters...she can't just abandon them. The MHC have a bad history, and i'm not judging them entirely for it because it's long in the past but that still doesn't mean it's right...they hurt eclipsa and now they're trying to hurt sky.".

"We're just saying the magic high commission should've known about this, omni especially, I'm going to need to have a word with them...though...", Marco looked over their son's distressed face, "I suppose that's the worst outcome for you...isn't it?". Judas nodded, "Look, we did think about going to them to bring the girls back, we really did...but we don't truly even know how they got here though...we have guesses...we don't know who sent them here and if one of them-".

"You're accusing the MHC of potential crime?".

"They're not exactly out of the question, if they could possibly send them back then...they could send them here...I don't know why though...", his parents exchanged looks as Judas made his plea, "Look, I know it sounds easy at this point to just take them there and have them be sent home but until we know what's going on...we just weren't sure it was a good idea, for all we know they did this to set sky up because they wanted to dethrone her for being weaker then other magic users...like all those jerks out there who...just hate me for being cursed...".

Was he crying? He was definitely crying, he could feel something running down his nose from his third eye.

His parents took a moment as Tom took a deep breath, "We still need to talk to the Butterfly's, even if we do choose to disclose this, all of it, to the commission, and keep it under wraps from the rest of the kingdom as much as possible, that doesn't stop them from doing so...the spiderbites and the arachfords don't yet fully know as well, just that you all were there at the scene and in a fight before getting hurt...the culprit getting away. Judas...how long till they do find out? These lies won't evade them for long...".

"Well if they have a part to play, then they already know...".

They were silent as judas huffed, "I want to talk to angel, I know he's still recovering since his wounds are a little magical...but me and sky know him, we should talk to him...he...he'll have a much easier time talking about the situation if it's us asking him...". He wasn't wrong, despite everything, there was no way their parents could question the boy without them, even if they gave him a truth potion he'd probably go entirely mute and heck no they wouldn't make the boy talk.

"Judas...I promised you i'd do whatever I could to make sure I didn't keep you apart from your friends...and...I still want to do that despite this...mess...but I am worrying you'll do something dangerous and get yourselves hurt...please understand that...", though Judas just leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms, "Then we'll take that risk...I'm...I'm tired of not really being able to help and not be able to really to show i'm not some baby you have to take care of and worry about...I'm the next king...I need to start taking action...".

"That's right!".

The door opened quickly and out popped the former king of the underworld, Tom's father, and he seemed...more happy then Judas expected about the recent events. His arm wrapping around his grandson and smiling to himself, "Look at this boy, he organized his own group to take out a hidden threat, all while keeping under the radar...that's impressive, and they were even super close to catching the culprit. Dangerous? Yes, but you can't tell me you're going to punish him completely for all of this are you?".

"Dad...stay out of it...I know judas is a grown adult practically but-"

"But he should be allowed to be an adult! Thomas you can't shield him forever, he should be able to make his own decisions during this time of crisis! If the boy wants to keep finding new ways to help his arm he should, if he wants to be apart of the action he should, he's not 7 anymore...perhaps he should not have gotten younger ones involved but do not punish him just for helping...". Dave crossed his arms as Tom sighed in frustration, "Dad I can't let judas off the hook for taking on a task without informing us...It's commendable...but...it's also something that at the very least, we should've known about...if something happened...we'd have no idea what had been going on...".

"But he had his reasons...especially since you might've shut him out from helping If it was mentioned-".

"Hold up!", Judas stood between the kings, keeping them from arguing any further, "Look...I did screw up...I don't...I don't wanna be let off the hook for everything...I'll...own up to everything I screwed up on, I never should've put them all in that kinda danger. But I meant no ill intent towards any of you or with any intention to hurt mason or landon...or sky...It's not that i don't trust you but that you don't trust us...or even...me. This stuff...what's happening, it's personal to me..and especially sky and I had to help her...".

The royals continued to glare at each other as Marco came forward, "Judas...you're grounded for endangering your brothers and all those other younger kids in this...however we'll try to make sure you can stay in contact with them, If Queen Butterfly and Janna agrees as well. As far as you being involved, we'll talk about it...and how far this news should spread as well...star told us but I don't know who else she's spoken to, in the meantime...no more sneaking around...well...at least outside of the butterfly or lucitor kingdom.".

Judas nodded, understanding, however Tom also stepped up, still looking at his father, "I'll allow you to speak to Angel, however...any and all info you receive from him returns to us, Katrina is now keeping closer tabs on you...even i can't argue that he'd talk to you or sky before either of us...the girls will stay in their respective rooms for now...though...we'll discuss more on them later...you can go, me and my dad need to have a chat it seems...".

Judas gave a look to all of them before exiting, feeling emotionally exhausted.

As if he hadn't been for days before this moment.

There was some relief, but not much, though he was happy enough knowing he and sky could still see each other and hang out despite this. Though he did imagine a very similar discussion going on on sky's end and he didn't imagine her moms handling it any better, he stopped in his tracks, he should go see her, if he wanted to see anyone right now it was her and having nora there and angel was probably a positive as well. Here he could only face landon, mason, celeste and sunny and considering the situation and how it'd feel for the grumpy pair and that two of them were pretty young he didn't feel too enthusiastic to see them for now.

He quickly arrived to the scene though despite not seeing her he knew Katrina was watching him.

Yeah, that was bound to be an issue as well.

Though upon arriving into the hospital wing he brightened up as nora waved to him, sitting next to sky, however much to his surprise...the rest of the girls were here as well. Celeste, Galexia, Sunny, and Luna, guess his parents didn't force them to stay in their rooms yet after all. Luna looked incredibly displeased, and for fair reasons as they got caught and who knows what would happen now, celeste had her wand full out now, and galexia and sunny seemed rather happy.

"Celeste healed up angel and sky fully with her cool magic!", Sunny squeaked, "They feel a lot better now, I mean, angel seemed pretty messed up...I don't know if it was worse then when I hurt you on accident or not but...he's moving...he's just...sleeping a lot...". That was fair considering the situation and what happened to him in particular, he needed more rest then anyone considering how tired he had looked before the incident, judas had so many questions for him and he knew sky did too.

Though Sky's gaze seemed to avoid angel in general.

He approached her carefully, and he didn't even get a word in before she spoke, "Mom's not back yet...my other mom went in to make sure her brain didn't go all...goopy or anything...did everything go well on your end or did your parents uh...?". He laughed, trying to make light of the situation as best he could, "As good as you can get under this situation, I'm in serious trouble...but...my parents aren't so cruel as to..well...do their worst to me about this...I just hope nora's ok considering...her parents...".

He looked over to her, as she spoke to galexia, sunny approaching them both. She was still here so that was something, though her parents would be silly to move her again...unless they wanted to change dimensions or something insane like that. "Hey...are you holding up ok? I know that whole thing really got to you in particular, with eclipsa and angel and...a lot happened back there...and...is there anything you need right now? If that's ok to ask?", sky buried her face in her hands, dragging them over it, frustrated.

"I really don't want to talk to eclipsa, at all...ugh she just...she blew our cover! I trusted her! and she sold us out! Now what? What's going to happen to us? Am i going to be arrested? Lose the wand? I mean I know my moms witnessed the situation enough to know It wasn't me but..if this gets out there someone could warp it...I-...UGH!", she yanked off her hat and threw it onto the bed, sighing, "The worst bit though, is angel...I started to really trust him...and...ugh what did he do during this? Did he spill our info? Did he lie to me to use me for something? I can't even be sure all the stuff he said was genuine anymore...".

"Sky...angel tried to-".

"I saw what he tried to do but that doesn't change the fact he lied to me judas...he got me to actually care and feel bad and he still lied to me...of course it's easy for you to forgive him cause you always thought he was some good person and you weren't the one he probably manipulated...but that doesn't work for me." she tugged on her hair harder as the tall demon took a seat next to her, "We should question him when he wakes up, maybe we need the full story of what was really going on, after what happened, they certainly can't let angel go back home...he's going to be in serious danger unless your mom comes back with Her.".

"I'm just not...maybe you should talk to him first...I kinda want to be alone for awhile, I know I was suspecting him of lying I just...I didn't it to be true...shame on me I guess...".

She got up and was about to head out, before the door to the room slammed open, Kelly entering and looking around, "Princess Butterfly, your mother has returned...she wants you, Luna, Galexia...the demon and the frumpy one in her office right now...". Sky felt her heart drop, though she didn't protest as her and her sisters left the room, luna being the last and unsurprisingly the angriest about the ordeal they were now all in. Leaving Judas alone with nora, angel, and the other patients in the room.

"Judas...I'm sorry this is happening to you...", nora approached him softly, she'd clearly been crying judging by her face.

"It's not your fault nora...we couldn't keep this a secret forever, someone would find out...i'm just sorry you got dragged into it...I don't...your parents are probably mad aren't they?", the slime girl shuffled her feet nervously, "Well they aren't happy but...not at you...I-I told them I choose to do it...to go out there and help...I may of...told them off...I got mad...cause they were blaming you and sky and thought you forced me to go on a wild adventure with you...and I just...told them that it was my choice...".

"You really did that?".

"Yeah...I uh...I think i'm in trouble...".

"Nora i'm...I'm sorry-".

"No judas...I'm really happy i did it.".

"Wait...you...", his eyes widened as nora broke into a smile, "I've never wanted to tell them that more in my entire life...and I finally did it, they never thought I'd ever have the gulls to go against them or fight back and I did! Sky was right, I'm...I'm cool...". Though her smiled faded as she looked around the room, "Though...I wish the situation was...better, judas...i'm going to help in anyway I can, regardless of what my parents tell me to do...if you need anything I-".

"Nora, right now I just want you to be safe, a lot just happened and we should...rest...get something to eat...", nora understood, "I'll go...I'll get us something to eat...don't worry, my parents are mad but...I think they're too scared to leave the castle or know how much to even ground me so...i'll be fine...you can rest in one of these beds if you want...". She patted one of the mattresses and quickly headed out, eager to bring something back for them both, Judas almost found himself stunned.

At least someone got something good out of this mess.

His attention was then turned back to angel though, who was now wide awake and staring at judas with so much intent that judas almost jumped when he saw him. Angel looked sad, even embarrassed as he turned his head away all of a sudden and judas took a deep breath and took a seat on the bed next to him. "Hey...I'm glad you're feeling better...", it was the best he could muster for now, though angel didn't respond back, his head turned away completely from the demon.

Judas shuffled his feet on the floor, looking down at them, the thoughts angel had going through his head must've been intense...how would he even begin to question him about what had been going down? Maybe it was better to start with something light? Something conversational and friendly? Though angel typically wasn't that kind of person so even that seemed like a possible bad idea in the long run, judas bit at his lips before clumping his hands together.

"Hey I uh...your dad told me you...got into fights over me...is...is that true?".

Angel didn't turn or respond but his ears did seem to flinch.

"I mean it's not that important I just think it's...touching...that you really cared about me...I mean maybe it's not the smartest idea to get into fights with other kids, but...you really cared that much you defended my honor like that? even before we really talked much at all or got along? The only person who even really did that that i knew of was...well sky...you really never had to do that for me, I know I didn't pay much attention to you as a kid...I guess I just think...it's nice.".

"Nice...?", judas almost jumped at angel finally speaking to him.

"Yeah...it was really nice of you Angelus...".

'You were being picked on and outed for something out of your control...and...I didn't like it...", angel still sounded messy, like he'd been crying, "Sky was...her family to me...they had ways to fix their mistakes but something like yours? There truly isn't much you could do...I don't know...I just ran across kids...monster and mewman who saw you like...well...meteora...that you were going to bring the end of mewni and that you were a mistake and the king should've just mated with someone else instead of creating you...and I just...I was angry...".

Something felt reliving about hearing angel speak, though he wished angel himself was telling him this under more ideal circumstances.

"You didn't have to...".

"I know but...I just didn't think you deserved it...I...It was hard...being outed in my own kingdom...I didn't like seeing it happen to...someone else.".

"You're a good person angel, despite everything...", though the monster boy didn't seem to agree, shaking his head, "Princess Butterfly hates me, I knew she would when she found out but...I was at least hoping maybe...maybe...". He slumped against the soft pillow underneath him, "I failed...I missed...I had to miss and fail and...disappoint everyone all over again.". He would probably rip the pillow up at this rate by how much he was gripping it, judas quick to reach out to try and clam him down.

"Angel...c'mon, sky doesn't hate you...she's just...there's a lot going on right now she has to deal with...she's hurt but she doesn't hate you...I certainly don't hate you-".

"Prince Lucitor you're practically incapable of hating anyone, you barely have a cruel bone in your body...I earned the princess's respect after assuming it'd never happen and now she refuses to look me in any of my eyes...if i hadn't failed I-", He shoved his face onto the pillow, screaming into it before going back to laying down. "Now her life is in shambles, my people are in danger, my mother will be gone forever and i'll be hiding here till she finds me and destroys me...I failed...and everyone will pay for it...", he wiped is nose with one of his sleeves before trying and failing to get comfortable in his bed.

Wow he was messed up, this had a serious emotional effect on him, more serious then he had been expecting.

Angel felt so hopeless, he sounded so drained of any life or happiness in the slightest.

And judas just sat back and placed his hands on his lap, "Angel...look, we're not going to let that happen, we're going to protect your people and save your mom and you're going to be safe...i'm sure this is like utterly terrifying for you but we can all help...maybe you can explain what you know and we could use it against them before they hurt anyone else?". Angel twitched in response, "Or throw me out to the side and let her get me for what I did...I'd probably deserve it...".

"Angel, talk to me...what happened? I'm asking you to trust me...she's not going to get you...we're not going to let her, you screwed up but we're not going to let you die for it, just...please tell us what happened.".

He blinked at him and dug his head deeper into his pillow, wiping his tears on the surface. "Judas she...look I received a note...told to call a number if i wanted to know how to save my mom and my people and finally get what i wanted and...i didn't have a mirror or compact so I...". The demon's ears pricked up, "You stole my compact...", and his companion nodded. "She hid the number as some pizza place and we talked...she made me an offer to help and I was skeptic but...she told me to meet her and prove she could help...".

"Angel...".

"She...he...they...whoever...showed they could bring magic back to my people, make them slowly grow as powerful as they used to be and save my mother's life...and all I had to do was tell them was be their little...helper...find them things, tell them about events...about meetings going down...the night of the sleepover...they...they portaled me here, while I was sleeping, to use me as a distraction...It...It didn't take long for me to realize I was in over my head..she somehow knew i was a terrible liar and tried to help me so I didn't blow her cover though...most of the time I avoided lying when I could...It...tends to make me feel sick doing it...".

"What about the medallion robbery?".

"They wanted me to steal it for them, cause my father mentioned it to me when he returned from the party and I talked about it with her...thought it could be useful...so...I-I tried to find intel on the inside of the castle for help, and I failed...the servant i tried to get in contact with never got back to me...but then they found the tunnels underground and suddenly they did it, without me even involved...but...I found out your family went into lockdown and was terrified and I realized I actually hurt you and you could've been in danger and I felt sick...I felt sick when she ran into you during the sleepover too, but I couldn't step out of the deal either...so I just kept at it, pretending there was nothing wrong...till I couldn't anymore...I couldn't do it...you were constantly trying to make me fell welcomed and want to help me and forgave me and...I was just..".

He coughed and wiped his eyes again, "She was delighted when I was going to class here, wanted more intel...but the more I was here...the more I just wanted to leave the deal...I...I couldn't go through with it, everyone wanted to help me, and I just...I like it here...a lot.". He sat up on the bed, trying to look judas in the eyes, "I...I like spending time with you...and sky...even...nora...I like buttered roles and Eclipsa and...I like being here...even though I knew I'd probably lose it when you found out...".

"Angel, you should've-".

"Should've what? Just tell you I was working against you? You know Sky never would've taken it well, she would've just thought worse of me...", but the boy argued back, "She would've been hurt no matter what, but saying something earlier could've prevented much worse, we could've caught them...then again...I guess they wouldn't trust you yet without more time to prove yourself...". The princes looked at each other worriedly, the pink one cupping his face in his hands, "Princess Butterfly would take one look at me and think less of me then she already did, typical me right? Ruining the lives of others...".

"You don't ruin the lives of -".

"Judas, stop...you know what I did, you know how everyone felt about me. I wanted so desperately to get what I wanted I took their deal and I couldn't get myself out of it...and now I'm suffering for it...and so is my mom...and my people...", he pressed his legs against his chest and cried into them, sobbing like judas had never seen before. "Angel, you're not a bad person for wanting to save your mom..or help your people...you made a mistake...but it's not the end...".

He could spot one of angel's eyes poking through his knees as he reached out for the prince's shoulder, "You tried to back out of it, you tried to take her out...angel we all screw up and do stupid things and hurt people, you can't really go back and fix it...you can only try to fix things now...you tried to paralyze her, that's...pretty scary for someone like you and you almost did it...". He was still silent, judas trying to comfort him further," Angel, look, I screwed up too...I put my friends in danger I put my family in danger...I've done so much dumb stuff I should've thought more about...but...it's part of life...and you still have time to help fix this and put an end to this...you know, this person...".

He ran his sleeves across his four eyes and sniffled, "I thought I could do it, master my ultimate and take her out, eclipsa was teaching me and she reassured me i could master it and that you all would accept me as...well...well actually she seemed to be thinking of something more extreme but I at least wanted us to be...on better terms? I know I said I didn't want...friends...and wasn't sure If i could have any...I just...I guess I didn't know I wanted one till I felt I had one...and...I wanted you both around".

"You really liked us huh?", Judas felt a smirk coming on, and Angel seemed embarrassed at what he just said, face red, ears pressed down and eyes diverting from the demon's.

"Ugh...I...always admired you...you...get things done and find ways to get people to like you,...I just...never thought I...or you you would...or that I needed...don't be snarky about it, apparently the small demon girl could figure this out with one look at me it seems...", he trailed off, "Everything was too complicated prince lucitor, I didn't want friends because I wanted to focus on the cause and helping and It took a toll on me...doing this alone and feeling worse and worse about myself..., but when you and sky...and princess spiderbite...cared or wanted to help and...treated me like a friend...and not as a failure you wanted nothing to do with...but then I knew i was already too deep to try and be friends because I was hurting you and had already hurt you and...I couldn't do it, I just didn't know what to do...and then...you wanted to save my mom and...".

He was about to cry again and judas quickly pulled him in for a hug, "Hey...hey...I get it...you're probably going through a lot of emotions with all this...you can give yourself some time if you need...we're all really emotionally tired after that...". Angel was practically clinging to him, his spider legs wrapping around them as well as he buried his face in the boy's shoulder. "We're going to fix this, and I promise you and sky will be able to patch things up...she can't stay mad forever..not even to you...she needs time to cool down...".

"You can't promise me that...".

"She's my best friend, we fight...but...we can't stay mad forever...we talk and we work things out...you can still help us fix this and I promise at the very least...I won't abandon you as a friend...", angel sniffled but nodded, "That...I can believe coming from you...I-I'm not surprised you're...being nice to me...but...It doesn't fully make me feel any less sick". Angel sighed into his shoulder, "I'm sorry...for everything, they...they knew everything about me...and...um...thanks...for saving me...you and sky both...I wouldn't be here without you...I'd...probably be worse off".

"Thanking us? Wanting to be friends? You really have changed...but you're very much welcome"., he snickered, patting the boy on the back, that's...that's really nice coming from you.".

"Don't rub it in, I feel sick enough as is dealing with all this...", Angel pulled away from judas but a hand was still clutching his arm, "I guess i'm going to be staying here until the threat is gone, maybe i'll even be staying in a cell...though perhaps that's just cruel thinking on my part.". The other prince patted the hand to reassure him as best as he could, "They won't put you in a cell...hopefully...if I have to, I'll vouch for you to stay in the underworld, we have lots of rooms and my parents might be more willing to help and forgive...I can probably offer you some of my clothes if you're staying here or there...i mean, they're not your style..but..they're better then what you're wearing now...".

He looked over the boy's messed up clothes, covered in dirt, blood, and torn from the fight.

"I'm sure my father could bring me clothes...you don't have to offer me anything...besides...you'd have to cut holes...for my legs...they'd come back damaged...", he sighed, having finally calmed down though he was now looking more towards the floor, though the demon persisted, "Your dad after this is going to be in more danger and so is your kingdom, and someone has to stay back there to manage everything going on...especially when the kingdom finds out what happened. He might be able to bring you something but until our parents can say he'll make it back and forth just fine, you might have to deal with our giving...and it's ok, you can keep some of my old stuff, and if you don't want it...we can repair it with magic...it's not a big deal".

"Fine...but um...I'm not sure about...leaving my mother...".

"It was just an offer, you don't have to...It's just in case...the people of butterfly castle and the butterfly kingdom in general make you feel unwanted...", the spider monster looked off to the side brushing more of his light pink hair away, "And the lucitors aren't mad about the stealing of your amulet? The lucitors are allied with the butterflies, me going against the butterflies is basically like going against the lucitors...I'm just going to have to deal with...wherever I end up...".

He tightened his grip on the boy's arm.

"I'm sorry...".

"Trust me...the amulet isn't a big deal...".

Angel simply blinked at him in confusion as judas got back on topic.

"Angel...we're gonna figure this out...and look, my family is mad about this mess, but if you do want a room, I'll try my best to make sure you're comfortable in it...Ok? I don't want you to feel...alone during all this, and a nice room in the Underworld at least means you can talk to me whenever you need to...it's optional though...and I know I sound...really forgiving...maybe too forgiving for you working with the enemy...but...you were trapped...you couldn't escape, and you tried to fight it and...angel I just don't want to see you hurt...I know you only had good intentions...I just...I don't want to watch the world turn against you again".

He silently nodded.

"Thanks...judas...".

Just then the door opened and Nora reentered, carrying containers of hot soup, blinking at the two of them as angel blushed and quickly moved his hand away from judas's arm, though nora beamed at the sight of him. "You're up! I'm so glad, I got you soup and rolls as well but I wasn't sure you'd wake up before it got cold! We can all eat together if that's ok? We should all get our strength up". Angel couldn't even protest if he wanted to as judas invited her over happily, taking a seat next to him.

Angel watched the others laugh and try to make light of things before taking a slurp of his soup in front of him. He wasn't feeling totally perfect, in fact he still felt anxious and sick and terrified, but there was something nice about being free and having a quiet moment surrounded by people who liked his company that seemed to put him a little more at ease. He jerked at the hot soup and watched as the others smiled and laughed, and he felt himself laugh in response.

There was no telling what would happen next.

But he couldn't deny, he liked this.

Sky had been dreading seeing her mothers after this mess, and she dreaded it more having her sisters with her. What was her mom even going to say about something like this? She was looking at her own kids from alternate universes, how would ANYONE react to that? Would she take all their wands from them? God she sure hoped her mom wasn't bad enough to go so far as to take their wands for herself, or just hand everyone over the the commission for this.

The moment they were inside her office, sky was ready to face the music, however, she was surprised to see the mom sitting at the desk was not star but Janna. The queen smirking at her, leaning on her fist as she got a good look at all the girls, "Star's still hunting in other dimensions...but uh...someone had to come back and ground you. So now you've got me! Though for the record, oof, the magic dimension can be hard to get around without wings like she does...needed a lot of pudding to get through there...".

Luna seemed less then impressed to see Janna there, though Janna seemed incredibly happy.

"Y'know...now that i'm looking, you all do look like star a little bit...gotta admit, it's pretty cool...freaky...but cool", wow they caught on fast, at the very least sky assumed they figured maybe she had friends who made additional wands but no, they figured out they were her sisters.

Or maybe eclipsa told them, actually that would make more sense.

Janna was a little too happy if Sky was being honest, and when her mom was this smiley it usually meant bad news, and indeed her mom smiled as she looked over the other girls and tapped her fingers on the desk. "Sky sky sky...man I knew you got up to things but multiverses was not on the top of my list these days. To be fair, I guess considering how much omni drones on about multiple timelines and universes i can't be surprised these four exist.".

"Are you going to-".

"Hurt them? Heck no, timeline stuff like that is super wonky and like...even i'm not getting into that mess though i admit it'd be fun...Am i cool in your worlds girls?". Looking behind her, sky could see luna was unamused, galexia blinked at her if not sure, celeste snorted, and sunny nodded. "Well anyways so yeah this is KINDA a big thing to have kept under wraps considering the situation but until your mom gets back we're going to continue keeping it under wraps, just because well...if word got out there were multiple wands to steal or other universes people might FREAK, which sounds hilarious but probably would make it harder to actually do anything so...".

"You're not planning to tell the public?".

"Are you surprised? Like unless we have to we might wanna keep them hidden so we don't got more masked folks running around looking to steal our things...though honestly that's not the weirdest thing we've dealt with on mewni.". The girls exchanged looks and sky grumbled, "Ok so...what? What now? Are you going to keep them here? Send them right back home or...?". And Janna snickered, "Send them home? You mean through Omni? Oh HECK no, Star already dealt with those losers throwing meteora away...she's kinda worried they did something to cause this...".

"Well that's exactly why we kept this hidden...", luna stepped up, "You can't trust anyone around here, especially in a universe where you aren't as familiar with how everyone is different and how much everything is different, we needed to handle this on our own...and we almost had them...before you arrived.". Something about the blonde seemed to amuse janna, kicking her feet up on the desk and sitting back in the chair, "That weirdo summoned herself into the magic dimension, you would've lost your mind in there and got taken by her instantly...they were clearly prepared for this kinda ambush".

"And they teleported how exactly?".

"Well, they had something magic on them, they used the magic to take them to the source after it was destroyed...tricky part is...".

"Only butterflys are supposed to know that spell...", sunny piped in, "They're either a butterfly or someone very close to the butterflys...there's no other way they could be anyone else.". And janna commended her with a nod and spreading her arms out as if she were performing, "You got it, and c'mon...the MHC would arrest sky immediately if they knew that...and yeah, we got witnesses to prove she wasn't under that mask but it's easy for anyone to say she told someone and staged it...".

"Why are they after sky so badly? For being part human? That's really stupid...", Celeste huffed from behind sky, crossing her arms, "Ok sure, they have some evidence but not enough, why not let them question angel down there or something for some truth?". The queen seemed to think about it but shrugged, "Eh, even I agree handing them another monster to persecute sounds like a bad idea, don't get me wrong, they're trying to do better...but the monsters would probably not like the idea of the high commission well...handling this sorta issue...though honestly i just think they're looking for something to blame...".

"Something to blame?".

"They messed up, got put on a leash, and want to make themselves look good again, they want to show they know what they're doing and won't screw up again, but they just suck at it. Star is like PISSED about their first instinct being to say it all was you, but boy...I guess you were up to something regardless. I gotta admit, I'm a little proud of you...you really did all this behind the scenes, reminds me when I was your age, schemeing behind everyone's back...".

"You still do that.".

"Touche.".

"So...why did you call us all here, you're not going to reveal them, take their wands...send them back...why are we here? Mom this isn't funny, it's not like one of your pranks, this is kinda too important to just be fooling around with.", janna shook her head, "Sky c'mon...I called you in to let you know we want you all in, at least I do. I mean, you're still grounded but...as far as this situation goes, it's kinda clear to me at least, we probably should be working together on this, you've gotten closer then anyone on our side sure has to handling this...probably because you're more under the radar and they're targeting who they think is more threatening."

"You took us here, to work with us?".

"I mean, I need everyone else to agree but I personally, am all for it...minus the whole "Getting you guys hurt" and everything, Eclipsa freaked out about this stuff but honestly I think it's pretty sweet, you really pulled that charade for this long huh? I mean, you're still in serious trouble, like...I don't think you're leaving this castle anytime soon but...I mean, after all of this? We'd kinda have to be stupid to not have you help us with whatever you know.".

Luna snorted, getting everyone's attention as she nearly laughed, "Oh, so after this mess, you decided we're valuable enough to work with you? That's it huh? We had been doing mostly fine without you, how are we even expected to believe you at this point? You're taking this situation so casually! ", though the woman only laughed, "C'mon, you really think multiverses are that strange to us? We knew they existed, we just kinda don't have a big reason to focus on them...until now, seeing you isn't nearly as strange as other things we've seen, I mean sure...it's insane and honestly you should've said something but...like, there's a creep running around mewni...we'd probably be better working together...".

"So you're not going to separate us?", sky mumbled, "I thought after something like this you'd never want us in contact again...".

"Well I mean, the Lucitors could back out but they're too nice to keep you all apart, especially since you'll be no help apart...you two were clearly the masterminds behind this...we'd be stupid to keep you two apart when we kinda need you...honestly the only thing no one's sure about is what to do with the kid. I mean, despite everything, his family is a Butterfly ally, so he technically was committing treason by working with the enemy against his allies. I mean, probably not smart to put him under trial of the commission but there's no way he's getting out without a scratch on him...I'll be surprised if he even manages to walk out of this castle without being attacked for it...".

Sunny gasped, "But he tried to help! He went on his own to break their deal and take her out! He went against her to help us! How can you all still go against him, he's just a kid!". There was some irony of that coming from sunny, someone younger then angel, but after how she felt about angel it wasn't a surprise. Sky didn't even need to look Luna in the face to get the feeling luna felt the opposite though, sky could even here her breathing through her nose behind her.

"It'd still be considered treason for working with her in the first place, I mean he was harmless before but who knows what he told her about our kingdoms, if anyone's in the hotseat right now, it's him. i mean you guys had a secret organization to catch a criminal and hid secret princesses in your group but you didn't exactly allow an enemy a chance to take over mewni and gain access to powerful objects and info. I mean, he's 16, so he's not going to be killed for it, but boy if his kingdom didn't like him before...maybe the queen or king has a cousin they can pass the crown to...".

"What? But like, angel cares about his kingdom more then anything! I mean like...he annoyed me for ages just because he wanted it to be treated with more respect and be helped from what our family did to it! I mean, maybe he never went about it in the best way but we both agreed to actually trying to work together to properly help it and-", sky stood up, waving her arms around in anger, "I mean, apparently he did this all in the first place just so he could bring them back to life with magic again and...he could be...ugh! Mom, he was just scared! And he tried to fix things, that's not...it's not fair!.".

"Skyler...I love you, but like, you can't do a lot for him, he's probably going to be on trial regardless and we'll see where he stands...and if the high commission finds enough on you, you'll probably be standing right with him, court in mewni is wonky. I mean like...he's kinda going to have to deal with the situation he put himself in...I mean, i dealt with detention all the time in school, I mean, that's not quite the same thing as losing your crown but still...".

"Don't...decrown him, c'mon now he doesn't deserve that...", sky muttered, "Despite everything...don't let that happen...".

"Well, you might be able to figure something out to get you both off the hook, but you can't do it alone...only way that boy's getting off the hook is if he makes a good case for himself, and no doubt the trail's already being planned, we're not going to tell them about the girls, considering if that gets out we'll have more then Her to worry about. But they kinda have to know about angel and what he did to the kingdom...everyone has to know and he's going to be on trial...and considering the situation, good chance he's screwed.".

Sky grumbled as she caved in, she had no choice did she?

"Fine...we'll work together...but...don't be surprised if some of them don't trust you mom...they're kinda peeved at you and I think they will still be if you force them to not help, they want to help...", sky ushered to her sisters in the back, janna smiled, "Oh trust me, i think this situation will be awkward for awhile, but we're kinda in a pitfall and well...looks like it's time for a new strategy...besides you kinda don't have a choice, I am your mom.". The princess only grumbled, "I really hope you're not lying to me, cause right now is not a good time to be lying to me...I don't need mom to come in and...and take them away...".

"Nah...at this point, your mom would be crazy to say no on you helping, and honestly, if she does, i get the feeling eclipsa and me would probably fight for it. I mean, eclipsa doesn't want you in serious danger but she also goes on and on that that you should help and be active how you can so...you tell us what you know, we tell you what we know and maybe we can crush them instantly. I mean, I honestly can't complain about working with kids to take down people, we were teens when we took down threats...about your age...".

Janna stood up, fixing her suit and crossing her arms, "Your still grounded to all heck and back sky, but girls...welcome to the team.".


Sky was so sure she'd be punished honestly, like SEVERELY punished for this, she had been expecting the worst kind of outcome and it to be the end of the world, but not only was she actually asked to help, but her mom actually wasn't going to lay a finger on the girls? Maybe she really had thought the worst of her family, though her other mom was the one who needed to agree, not to mention the other parents in the situation, she felt relieved, though still upset.

She didn't want them to know for a reason, they'd take the credit, they'd restrict her.

There was no way she would've been able to do what she did if they worked with her beforehand and she knew it, the only reason her mom thought they should work together is because sky already got so far and they needed her if they wanted to get any closer. Angel would never speak to her moms, and all the stuff they learned and experienced they would have no knowledge of, it was an uncomfortable task, if she said too much would she be useless to her moms after that, back to being cut out?

She believed her moms needed her and wanted her around to help.

She wasn't sure to believe that this wasn't temporary.

Though after the whole meeting everyone was sent right to their rooms, including her, not even getting a chance to see judas before being escorted in and having her doors shut behind her. She wasn't sure about seeing him anyway, and it's not like she couldn't text him. She was relived, more then relieved, but that didn't mean she was happy, there was no telling i they knew...how long it might take to spread all over mewni. Not to mention she couldn't be sure or trusting of anyone right now.

Angel.

She was still mad with him alright, but treason? There was no telling what could happen to him if the worst came to be, the crown being handed so someone would break his heart. Was he a poor prince? Yes. Could he have been miles better then he was? Yes. But even Sky had to admit this was unfair to someone who despite everything really did want the throne and did want to actually help, she wondered if he was aware he'd lose the crown when he tried to break from the deal.

He probably did, angel wasn't that stupid.

He really sacrificed all that for them didn't he?

Sigh.

She fell on her bed and shoved her face into her pillow, she didn't know what to think anymore, she didn't know whether to feel safe or terrified, whether to be mad or happy. She was in a mix of so many emotions as she turned on her side, holding onto her wand tight. She could go through that portrait on her wall, go see eclipsa, but she didn't want to, seeing her right now was probably worse then going to see angel or even her mother in fact.

At least she was used to years of her mom treating her like she was incapable to handle important things, or angel going against her and her further being disappointed in him. She was not used to Eclipsa of all people being against her like this, not even that eclipsa was such a big presence in her life, but whenever she was it was always praise and encouragement of sky. Eclipsa just outright exposing her like that? God, so much for putting her trust in her.

She should sleep, she needed more rest, all these thoughts going through her head were starting to mess her up, she needed to sleep it off and worry about it later. Thought honestly she wasn't even sure she could fall asleep under these conditions, even if she really wanted to, she didn't like being so alone, she didn't know about texting judas, didn't want to talk to eclipsa or angel. Here she was instead, lying down in her room, all alone, slightly bruised up, and emotionally drained.

She almost didn't hear the faint tapping coming from her window, though when she did, she immediately clutched her wand in utter fear, only to be relieved when the face she was seeing was...Nora's? She headed over to open the window and thankfully nora wasn't floating in mid-air but was being held by a familiar purple demon, judas helping nora through the window before heading in himself before shutting it behind them. " I had to try and evade katrina at least a little, but if she finds me she can't scold me for just seeing you...".

"Why'd you sneak through my window?".

"Nora didn't want to run into her parents, besides, your room is uh...still guarded, didn't think they'd let us in...", his shoulders sagged in relief and he wiped at his face, "Sky i'm...I'm really happy to see you...did...did everything go ok?". His friend sighed, walking up and immediately pressed her head against his chest, "It was my other mom...and uh...well...look, it's...i'm grounded but...my mom wants us...all of us, to work together and catch the culprit together.".

"Really? That's...that's great! My parents...are actually kinda on a similar path...it's...better then I thought at least...", Judas felt a wave of relief overcoming him, though sky was quick to shake her head.

"Judas...it's not...the only reason they're doing this is because we know things and they need us, sure...they're not gonna separate us and thankfully do nothing to the girls but...I...they know, what if they're lying to us? What if we tell them everything and they just don't want us to help anymore afterwards? If we hadn't almost captured that...Her, who knows what they would've done to all of us, but judas...we caught...we caught a criminal, backed her into a corner that they had to run to get away...".

"So you worry after they get our help...they won't go easy on us anymore...that they're not punishing us because they need us?".

She nodded.

"And worse off, angel is going to be trialed for treason...".

Judas shuddered, "Oh...oh...that's...", he wasn't surprised, if anything he expected this to happen, angel would never get off the hook for doing this even if he had been successful and caught Her. But hearing Sky say it made him freeze, god that, kid wasn't caching a break at all. "Sky...I don't think we have a choice in this situation, if we want to stop them, we have to help our families, though yeah I'm not sure what'll happen afterwards. We can't just back out of not helping them, and going off on our own will...cause more issues..maybe..maybe we'd be better off holding back...?".

"Wait...judas, you want to...hold back?", the words that came from his mouth sounded so strange for the boy sky was bewildered. Though the prince quickly tried to explain, "It's just...in doing all this, I put my own brothers in danger, I put you in danger..and if you mom hadn't jumped in to save you...maybe we shouldn't be trying to track her like we were and putting ourselves so far in the forefront... not because i don't trust you sky, or nora, or landon, or any of you...but...back there...we could've lost somebody...".

"You're starting to sound like eclipsa.".

"Sky i'm not saying we shouldn't be involved at all, we should...I'm not backing out of doing this...this concerns us greatly and we can't back out of it at this point. I'm just saying maybe what we should do is work behind the shadows, maybe they should be at the front and we work from behind the scenes, sky most of us are still kids...mason should've never been involved in that and If i hadn't been so stupid to get our guy I would've sent him home...but I didn't..we saved Angel, and I'm glad we did...but we're in more danger then ever right now and we can't keep doing things how we did...".

Sky's gaze turned to Nora, who was standing awkwardly between the two friends, "Ok, what do you think nora? You're here too...if we gotta work with our parents...well...". Nora blinked at them, trying to raise her voice and clamping her hands together forcefully, "Well...it's...I'm glad I went...I...I really am glad...but...maybe..judas has a point,...maybe we should help in our own way. I mean...just...if she comes after us...we're doomed if...if angel is crownless or sky is in prison or...if we just let her take us all...".

"What are you saying...?".

"I'm saying...maybe if we want to fix this and fight back, we should be doing things like getting you off the radar fully or helping angel...with his mom or not lose his crown, we can't keep putting ourselves at the front lines of peril, at least...not while they knew we almost caught them...but...we can at least keep you from losing your wand or angel from being dethroned and just see what we can do to help...we should do something sky...we...just because we aren't going after her full force doesn't mean we can't help...your moms have no reason to help angel...but...we do...despite everything...".

Judas seemed to agree, "You can still be mad with him, you have every right to be...but he needs us right now and he's our best bet if we're ever going to get close to watching them...we might be able to sway his kingdom on his side again, which considering how much they sorta hated him before is a bit of a tough bet, but it might help him from being dethroned. Angel thinks she's going to come after him sky, he...he's worried he'll...he can't even leave this castle...we should help him...he screwed up but...he also tried to put an end to it too and risked his life to do so...we can't give up on him...".

"And his mom...?She's not going to hold in much longer and if she does pass? Who knows how that might affect our relationship with that kingdom, especially considering the sitauion and her in our care..", her gaze heading back to Nora.

"I'll offer my freedom to have my parents help with a cure...", nora mumbled, stepping forward, "I...Mason is offering his garden, and we have the resources to help...I...I know it's...scary I just...I almost lost my parents...I don't want to watch him lose his...". That made Sky backtrack, Nora would really go back on her freedom, finally getting out there and making friends, just to help out someone her family was supposed to hate? Even Nora still seemed to be dealing with this choice, but seemed to accept it.

"You'd really do that? I mean, Nora, I don't want you going back to...that mess...".

"Sky I...your magic does scare me..a lot of things scare me...angel scares me...but...I've been training forever to save lives...so...I can't walk out on this, no matter what... I should do something...", she was almost demanding, something new for her, and she seemed proud of it? "If I can save a life and maybe help fix the scar left between our families...shouldn't I? Shouldn't I try? The past is...gross, it's gross what...my family did to his...but...I can help."

"So...what's the plan then?", sky leaned against her wall, looking at her friends, "You don't want us in the direct line of danger since angel could've gotten well...yeah...if nora is giving up her freedom to help, then we won't be able to speak to her much at all, even if her parents just lock her in this castle...how the heck are we supposed to keep me or angel safe in this mess? I want us safe as much as you do but even I'm not sure how to keep us safe...".

"We'll help our parents with their search,we won't tell them...everything...we certainly can't admit...the galexia thing, just what we need...in the meanwhile...we need to help angel and get more from him, and we need to figure out whatever the high commission is using against you and shut it down officially before they use it against you, we can't keep going out into the field and putting ourselves in direct danger because we've already exposed ourselves, but that doesn't mean there's nothing we can do here...we're just going to have to be more sneaky...more smart...and more safe...".

"Sky, we can't change the past, they know now and there's no telling what they'll do with that information, but all we can do now Is help where we can and keep each other safe until further notice...is that ok?", the bluenette tugged on her hat and mumbled, "I already agreed to my mother's offer so...I guess we just have to deal with it...". She felt judas pull her into a hug and she sighed into his chest, "I'm glad...I'm glad we're still..".

She struggled to get it out but he happily finished it for her, "Sky, you know i'd never let them keep us apart...we'll figure something out, it's not over for us and we'll prove ourselves...to our parents and everyone else...we're not done until we say we are..".


Landon huffed in his room, staring up at the ceiling and trying and failing to play his music, he was a little too distracted for that despite his attempts. He nearly managed to catch her, she was in his grasp and he even had a potion he could use to question people but I guess that's what he gets for allowing his younger brother into the group without really mentioning landon wanted to be the one to do this himself. Knowing judas he was already working on a backup plan despite being in serious trouble.

There was no way judas would give this up, even if he did want to change things to avoid making the same mistakes again.

And even Landon couldn't get mad at him for that because he was considering the same thing, that being fled to the magic dimension of all places, a universe landon had never stepped a foot in before, but he was more then familiar with. He was young when his parents went there to see if the goo could help cure his brother, returning with a ton of empty pudding cups and disappointed faces, there had to be evidence in there right? Unless the Queen had already gotten everything there was to get out there.

Not to mention Sky's wand, maybe he needed a better look at that wand himself.

He wondered, if maybe he should...

No, that would be stupid and entirely dangerous, especially now, though he couldn't help but think about it. He'd never been to that dimension before and for good reason, losing your memories in there to the magic was dangerous and getting them back could be worse, his parents would certainly ground him worse then before. Judas was already bad enough taking so much of the heat, good chance if landon went there they'd think judas was responsible.

But he couldn't seem to stop thinking about it.

His compact rung and sure enough, it was his brother.

Judas: Landon, I'm sorry I dragged you into something so dangerous...I never should've gotten you involved in this mess, you don't have to help if you don't want to anymore...me and sky right now need to work on helping angel and figure out our next course of action

Judas: We might have to do it on our own, I just don't want you hurt like angel was...

Judas: If you want out, then you can stay out, if you want to help us...then just let us know

Judas: Please stay safe

Yep, sounds like judas alright.

What were their parents bound to do with this information? Go to those other universes themselves? Ask the girls about their worlds in response to their problems in the then and now? He didn't like the thought of his parents questioning celeste considering how uncomfortable she already was around them and about her life back home in general. God, this entire situation was a mess, a complete and utter mess and he wasn't sure what they could do in this condition.

For once, he couldn't even be entirely mad with Judas because this was way out of his hand, they got caught because of eclipsa or even sky, not because of him, and he was actually apologizing and taking most if not all the blame for it. Though it was almost surreal having the boy not want to take any direct action or fight back, his brother wasn't stupid but he was more inclined to handle something directly then wait at the sidelines for other people to fix his problem.

If judas wanted something, he'd ask for it, he'd ask for help.

He'd never seen judas be pushed out of putting himself in the direct line of fire to solve an issue before.

He'd almost expected judas to text him telling him the plan was still going and then had some secret plan to avoid getting in further trouble but no, if landon wanted to, judas was giving him an out while he and sky continued to help from wherever they could, no longer creepy doll hunting. Sure, all their parents were powerful so maybe they could handle it but what a way for their team to come to an end, found out and then just flop apart.

He had an out, he could go, just focus on his music and Bernard.

That was what he should do right? They lost, they failed, they shouldn't be pushing the bubble any harder then they already did, it was almost as if if they did another wrong move they'd be done for. Judas already was taking most of the heat, and he was paying for it. Landon could just move on, he could go back to normal life at this point and let the adults handle it. Like they've been handling issues and attacks in mewni for years and years.

Yeah, back to normal...

Where Landon was unremarkable in any way, the forgotten brother.

Landon sat up, grasping his compact in his hands, thinking it over before quickly texting judas back.

Landon: I'm in, what's the plan?